Many times, the pet will get involved with npc mobs and will give away your position in WvW by showing combat. Keep them on "Avoid Combat" until you need them. I use mine for boons, cleansing, and conditions such as stuns, slows or fears. A pet's damage is not much when compared to the Rangers damage. Pets will follow "Out of Range" (from their masters) and can easily be dispatched. If you are fighting another ranger, kill them first. If you break your attack on the ranger to kill the pet, you will fall behind in damage and lose the fight. Some rangers have gimped their damage in the hopes of increasing their survivability. They do manage better in the large group fights, but when in a group and they get attacked one on one by another ranger, they lose. Their survivability is increased by 1/4 but their damage is decreased by 1/2. When a ranger fights another ranger, it is a dps race. The "glass cannon" wins and unless the pet is causing serious interrupt problems it should be ignored. If it becomes a problem, then run back into your group, getting out of range to the ranger you are fighting, and immediately kill the pet. re-engaging the ranger immediately after. As a Ranger, you can always fall back out of the damage area to recuperate, but it is your job to kill the other rangers on the opposing team, keeping them from aoeing your group and protecting your allies from their deadly single target dps. Also, when an opponent tries to begin a push, hit them hard. When they see their health dropping like a rock ... they usually retreat. Assault on towers and keeps rely upon the ranger's aoe in clearing the ramparts from defensive opponents.
In short, ignore enemy pets unless they are becoming problematic. At range, you will be killing many pets while aoeing the group. Keep your pet focused on other rangers, or retreating enemies that are nearly down. Keep the enemy focused on saving their ally instead of attacking your group.
When your pet goes down, swap pets and continue. Pet dps or buffing will not make the difference. You remaining actively engaged, threatening the enemy will make all the difference in winning and losing. Effective enemy rangers are doing the same as you ... build yourself to beat them. Become and anti-ranger ranger. I have found that the one thing a ranger hates, in WvW, is another ranger attacking them. They want to sit at range and attack with out being damaged. When you attack them, they run for the hills. There are the group of good ones, that turn and fight you ... if they weren't the ones initiating the attacks. If you are attacked directly by another ranger, while in a group, look out. He knows his job and is probably capable of doing it.
You see another ranger firing on the group from a flanking position. You flank with them and when within 1200m send in your pet. First priority is to keep them from retreating or closing to use melee on you. Dogs make great pets for stunning, and an owls F2 will slow.
You open with Shortbow: Concussion Shot, Crippling Shot, and Quick Shot to gain distance. You should spec "Eagle Eye" (Marksman "X").
Swap to Longbow: Rapid Fire (/w Quickening Zephyr cast immediately once Rapid Fire cast begins), Hunter's Shot and swap to your Shortbow (of the Battle) for might, and repeat from the top (using Quickening Zephyr with your Rapid Fire whenever available).
Now that this is out, I will be having more difficulty eating rangers for lunch in WvW.
This is a bit scrambled and hard to follow. I have put off writing the guide ... but it is coming soon (once I finish the "all there is to know about pets" inquisition).
» Edited on: 2012-11-03 23:03:42